


Patience

by Ragamuffins



Series: The apparently growing adventures of Maxie and May [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: F/M, Gen, I'm just going really slow burn, Still has shipping undertones, slow and steady wins the race?, this fic should also be known as 'Maxie finally catches a small break'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 18:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2861156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ragamuffins/pseuds/Ragamuffins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And there it was, Maxie thought with no short amount of triumph; Steven Stone’s last shred of proverbial patience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Patience

**Author's Note:**

>  
> 
> I can not draw the men of pokemon, why do I even try? I should stick to drawing pokemon, ahaha… I also can’t draw chair things. I gave it a shot, since it was sketch though, at least.
> 
> Anyhow, prompt was: "How about someone else’s reaction to Groudon?" 
> 
> HERE. Have some Steven! This little ficlet should also be known as ‘Maxie finally catches a break’. Still has distinct redorbshipping undertones. I know, I know, I keep mentioning it, but I figure the disclaimer should stay since it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and it’s still sort of there.

Getting used to normal, every day occurrences was…  _hard_  for Maxie.

He’d spent the better part of a few years either coped up in a lab or literally buried underground, hidden away from the world, inside the refuge of a secret base. While it was true that he hadn’t really ever been a complete shut in… walking around, simply for the pleasantry of walking around had  _never_  been on the agenda.

Pokemon contests had also never really been on the agenda before. Nor had ‘socializing’ ever really been near the top of any of his to-do lists; in fact, the term hadn’t been on any of said lists _at all_. And at the moment, he was attempting two of those three things (for which Maxie felt he deserved a pat on the back, really).

Granted, he still found the whole idea of sitting inside a stadium full of people as they watched pokemon and their owners perform…  _uncomfortable_. The awkwardness of the whole situation would have lessened somewhat had he not been sitting  _right smack_  beside former-Champion Steven Stone. But then again, Maxie had begun to realize that life was simply out to make him pay for his past deeds, and that being put into awkward,  _uncomfortable_  situations seemed to be its way of making him pay his dues. As such, he felt he was being a perfect sport by sitting quietly beside the former champion, without so much as a snide comment; that should also be worth another good pat on the back.

For his part, Steven had been quite silent during the performance, though the man  _did_  turn  every now and again to offer the Magma leader a small, silent glare. The silence between them stretched long and hard… at least, until the former champion finally let out a sigh, “I don’t think she should be visiting you guys,” he said just loud enough for the red-headed man beside him to hear, “I don’t think it’s proper for her to be anywhere  _near_  your base.”

Maxie slid his gaze and attention towards the man beside him, but otherwise said nothing for a beat or two; a pokemon on stage was performing a move, and it’d require a round of applause from the audience in just a few seconds, and thus… he waited. When the audience cheered, both men, whom were seated near the back of the stadium applauded, but neither seemed to be paying too much attention to the show in question, “I agree,” he finally said as the crowd calmed down, “But I don’t really think it’s either of our places to tell her what she can and can not do, Stone. I believe Miss Maple is more than capable of making her own choices,” another round of applause cut his words short, and again Maxie applauded with the audience, as the situation required, “She’s also a capable fighter. Might I remind you that she’s bested not just me, but you too in battle?”

Steven opened his mouth and then closed it with a frown, much of his previous anger washing away for a moment or two, “Well, true…” he turned his gaze away from the Magma leader and focused back on the stage; May was, in fact, making her appearance at that very moment, pikachu at her side, “I just…” he shut his mouth again, still frowning as he considered the other man’s words, leaving his own hanging, open to interpretation.

"You are worried."

The former champion’s gaze was torn from the stage, surprised for a moment or two, “Well,  _yes_. Of course I am.”

"Understandable," came Maxie’s reply, "But I would put a little bit more faith in her," he drawled, "The girl  _did_  manage to  _tame_  Groudon, after all,” his words were meant as comfort for the other man, after all, while it was true that Maxie did not really particularly…  _like_  Steven Stone, his reasons were mostly biased, and he didn’t really  _hate_  him either. Not really. That aside, he had promised himself to act civil around the former champion; he (and his team) had been pardoned, and it was literally the  _least_  thing he could do.

As such, when Maxie’s head turned to gaze upon Steven, he was vaguely surprised to see the blue haired man staring at him with a rather baffled, confused expression upon his face, “What?” came the former-champion’s voice, “What are you talking about? What do you mean… _tamed_?”

Maxie frowned in confusion until it dawned upon him, “Ah,” he said, almost as if everything in the world was suddenly right; as if everything suddenly made sense once more, “I see,” he had always figured that if the girl had shown him Groudon, she’d most certainly shared its existence with Steven Stone. This was apparently…  _not the case_ , “Well, that’s interesting.”

"You see  _what_? What are you talking about? What’s interesting?”

And it was right around here that Maxie decided to toss his previous notions of civility out the proverbial window, because it had simply been  _so long_  since he’d managed to have the upper hand in a conversation like this. Frankly, he felt that with his general, all around mostly ‘good’ behavior that night, he’d earned the right to yank the other man’s chain for a while, “Oh… well, it’s not really my place to-“

"Maxie," the blue haired man’s voice adopted a soft, yet dangerous edge to it, but the Magma leader seemed entirely unperturbed by it.

"Don’t look at me like that, Stone. If you’re not privy to such information…" he drawled calmly, though inside his head, Maxie was starting some sort of count down;  _3, 2, 1… and…_

“ _Maximilian!_ ”

 _And there it was_ , Maxie thought with no short amount of triumph; Steven Stone’s last shred of proverbial patience. He decided that poking the dragon had it’s limits and that it was probably in his best interest to satisfy the other man’s curiosity before it brought him some sort of unforeseen trouble, ”I take it from your exasperation and general confusion that you never deigned it necessary to ask Miss Maple about Groudon’s general well being after the incident?”

Steven Stone was by no means an angry man; it was hard for him to maintain any sort of anger outside small outbursts, and at Maxie’s question, the man deflated back down into utter confusion once more, “What? No, of course not.  _Why_?” a pause followed, “Should I have  _done_  so?”

"Well, if you had done so, you’d have come to find that Miss May Maple keeps Groudon in a pokeball, latched around her waist," the Magma leader’s head turned away from the spectacle on stage just in time to see poor Steven’s brain break; Maxie could have even pinpointed the  _exact_  moment in time when it happened, given the fact the former champion was more or less an open book.

"You’re  _joking_.”

"Tell me, Stone; do I strike you as the joker type? I  _do not_  joke,” Maxie drawled. A smug expression had come over his features, “In a duskball, if memory serves me right, by the way. Ask her,” he couldn’t help the smirk that stretched upon his features; it really did feel good to have the upper hand once more. It was also rather hilarious to watch the bafflement and near panic attack Steven was going through, given he was quite sure it’d mirrored his own reaction to learning about about the large beast’s current location.

There was silence, and then loud cheering as May finished her performance on stage, and Maxie turned to offer an applause, and if he applauded louder than he had before, for the other contestants… well, it was probably lost in the roar of cheering anyhow. 

~~~~~~~~

 After the winners were announced and he’d given May his congratulations on her win, Maxie had stepped outside of the auditorium, to give Steven some time to talk to her… but mostly because he needed a break from crowds and people. There was, after all, only so much he could take; baby steps, he’d figured, and thus, he’d gone off for a short walk through the city in an attempt to relax and unwind. 

By the time he got back to the pokemon contest arena, it was deserted; the crowds had left. It was, well… _mostly_  deserted anyhow; Steven Stone sat alone on one of the front row seats of the arena, looking almost lifelessly and vacantly at an empty spot, just a few meters away on stage.

Maxie knew that look. He’d _worn_  that same look.

"I take it you asked her, then, if your expression is anything to go by," he told the other man as he approached and sat down, twining his fingers together over his chest. There was, however, no response from the former champion, whom continued to stare unblinkingly at the empty spot on stage, "Stone?" still no answer, and thus, Maxie let out a sigh, "Steven," he said, "If it serves as any sort of comfort, I near had a heart attack when she showed me. The girl released that thing in the middle of the Magma common room, and I near fainted when I saw it."

Steven slowly dragged his gaze away from the stage and turned to look at the man beside him, opening his mouth and then closing it. Several times did this happen, but still no sound was produced until suddenly the former champion was able to choke out a garble of words, “S-she scratched its belly,” came the poor man’s croaking voice, “The thing rolled over, Maxie,” he stammered, ”It rolled over, and she scratched its stomach.”

"Yes, well," came the red-head’s calm drawl, "I reiterate; She’s more than capable of looking after herself, Stone, as you’ve been privy to," that said, the Magma leader pushed himself out of his seat and stood, "Though your worry is probably a good thing, it is misplaced. Is she still in the changing room?"

Steven, still feeling horribly dazed, offered the other man a very small nod, and then watched him leave the auditorium. He… would stay there a while still; he wasn’t quite sure his legs could carry him at the current moment.


End file.
